David
by ChocolatStar
Summary: "His eyes flashed with terror and they pleaded with her to let him live, but Ellie was far removed from mercy. " - In the final showdown between Ellie and David...only one will survive. This is *that* scene in the burning restaurant written in two parts - firstly, from Ellie's point-of-view and then from David's. Enjoy.
1. Ellie

**Author's Note: **Hey guys. So - finished 'The Last Of Us' the other day - and basically, it blew my freaking mind. I loved it. And the game inspired me to write. Now, there were a lot of stand-out moments for me in the game, but the scene between Ellie and David in the restaurant really stuck with me - like, it was so disturbing and raw…and real, I guess. You have infected walking around everywhere, but here Ellie - a young girl - is tormented and stalked by another human being and is very almost killed by him. Pheew. It just made an impact on me. So, I wanted to write the scene.

I guess people have different opinions on the David character. As with everything in 'The Last Of Us' nothing is plainly black and white, it's all grey and I think that is also true with David. He's a survivor and I don't think that he's an entirely evil guy - I don't think that anyone in 'The Last Of Us' is "evil" - it's not that straight-forward - but clearly he has some issues and clearly he's a little disturbed (and yes, perhaps he might like little girls. I'm still not sure) And it seems that what he does to Ellie he's done to others, as she is described as 'his newest pet.' I'm still not entirely sure what David was exactly planning for Ellie once he'd pinned her down…I don't know if he just wanted to kill her or more, but either way that scene was creepy and David had far too much interest in Ellie for my liking. So yeah, with that in mind, let's go. I've written this story in two parts - one from Ellie's POV and one from David's (which was an interesting writing challenge!) And I've tried to stick to the scene as faithfully as possible.

**Disclaimer: Own nothing except my words.**

**David **

Ellie stared up into the eyes of her tormentor and found them pitiless. Every fibre of her being screamed at her to buck or squirm - to _fight_ for her life…but she was so very tired, and he was just too strong.

"You can try beggin'," he rasped, his breath close to her ear.

She fought down the waves of revulsion. "Fuck you," she spat, pleased with how fierce her voice sounded. No one would call Ellie a coward. If she was going to die, then it would be with some fucking dignity.

She felt him shift above her and drag her shoulder round so that she lay on her back. His face had darkened. He hadn't liked her talking back, or maybe he had - maybe the fight in her got him going. Ellie didn't know. She just wanted to be away from this place - away from David and all of his cannibal cronies. She didn't want to die. Ellie only wanted to be safe again with Joel. …Joel. Where was he now? Would he survive without her? Absently, Ellie wondered if he'd find her body before the damn fire took hold, or would he just stumble onto her charred remains? If he even got to her that was. …Would he search? How would he know where she even was?

Rough hands laced across her throat. David's face loomed above - crazed. Her vision fuzzed horribly. She felt sick.

"You think you know me? Huh?" David suddenly demanded, spittle flying from his lips.

Ellie didn't know him. Maybe if she did then this wouldn't be happening to her.

"Well, let me tell you somethin'," he continued.

Her breathing was coming in harsh gasps now, but David's hold only tightened, notching up like a noose, as he leaned into her. Ellie saw spots blur into her vision, her heart booming wildly in panic…but through the haze, her fingers found something - a handle. They closed around it.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of."

The words made Ellie's blood run cold. Instinct told her that they promised more than just death.

Ellie brought the machete up without hesitation, the point biting into David's left arm. He screamed horribly and rolled off of her. Ellie leapt onto him like a thing possessed, straddling his waist as he had hers but seconds before. The balance of power had suddenly shifted. She raised the blade - already slick with David's blood. His hands came up, futilely trying to shield himself, and he let out a strangled scream. His eyes flashed with terror and they pleaded with her to let him live, but Ellie was far removed from mercy. The fourteen-year-old - at an age where she should be discovering boys and fashion and the general trivialities of being teenager - had become an unstoppable killer in that moment.

The machete rose and fell as if it had a mind of its own - singing its song of gory death - and David's face soon became a bloody mush under the relentless slashing. His screams had been quickly cut off and all that could be heard against the backdrop of the steadily spreading fire was the sickening wet thud that resembled a butcher's cleaver hacking into the flesh and bone and gristle of a fresh carcass. Ellie didn't stop. She barely even noticed the streams of blood that covered her hands and splattered up her arms, as each downwards cut was punctuated by her thoughts.

_Sick. Sick. Sick. Fuck. You. Sick. Fucking. Fuck. _

She was going to make sure that he was dead - the bastard. The fucking sick bastard.

Through the red mist of her mind, Ellie became dimly aware that someone might be calling her name, but she dared not stop.

Arms suddenly grabbed her from behind and she struggled violently against them, dropping the machete as she did. Ellie fought to regain the weapon, but the arms around her were stronger and dragged her up, away from David's mangled corpse. She thrashed, possessed by a terrible need to escape. She would not go back.

"Don't fucking touch me! No!" she screamed.

"It's okay," said the voice. "It's me. It's me."

"It's me. Look. Look."

Hands steadied her head, and finally she understood. It was Joel who stared back at her - his eyes filled with tenderness and concern. "It's me," he said again.

She stared, breathing heavily. Joel had come for her.

"He tried to -"

Her words faltered. She couldn't finish them. The blood lust fell from Ellie like sheets of rain, and she collapsed forwards into Joel's waiting arms, exhausted.

"Oh, baby girl. It's okay. It's okay."

"Joel." Her voice was tiny and cracked with all the strain of the last few days. She had been so alone. Ellie, such a capable young woman, was but a child in Joel's arms - willing him to comfort her and protect her against the monsters that existed all around them.

"It's okay now," he soothed. Joel held her close and rocked back and forth, as Ellie sobbed against his chest. She cried for what she'd lost - for what she had become...and for what so easily could have been.

And with the building burning around them, the pair shared that one moment together, both knowing that their relationship had changed forever.


	2. David

**Author's note: **So, welcome to the second page - just to clarify that this is now David's POV of that same scene. Enjoy?

**Disclaimer: Own nothing except my words.**

**David**

David had never been particularly popular with the ladies - even before most of the female population had been transformed into enraged hell-beasts whose only interest in him was the delicate taste of his flesh - but still, he had always had ways of getting precisely what he wanted. Women may not have liked him that much, but that didn't mean that he didn't like them.

David pressed his fingers against the lower part of his neck as he contemplated this - and winced. He was bleeding. That little bitch.

The room was gradually filling with smoke, but he could make out Ellie well enough. There she was - mere feet away and crawling determinedly forward on hands and knees. The sight was so pathetic that David almost laughed. He had to hand it to that little girl - she sure had some spirit.

He stood still for a moment, allowing Ellie the time to take a couple more hard-fought shuffles forward, before he wandered over and swiftly booted her in the stomach.

Ellie let out a choked cry of shock and fell forwards. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she pressed her forehead into the carpet, breathing heavily.

David laughed. He couldn't help it. He so enjoyed this cat and mouse game - this tit for tat that they'd shared. Ellie had turned out to be much more fun than David had first thought she'd be. At first, David's interest in Ellie had been born out of curiosity - she was a good shot, could handle herself well and fought hard. She would have made a great little addition to the team. But then she just had to go and fuck everything up. Instead of joining him as he thought she would, she spurned his advances and offers for help, had killed a bunch of his men and had broken is God damn finger. Now, she would have to be punished and David couldn't deny that a part of him didn't relish that.

"I knew you had heart," he said, standing over her prone figure. "Y'know, it's okay to give up. Ain't no shame in it."

Which was true, but David so hoped that she wouldn't. He loved em' when they fought back a little. His eyes widened with glee as Ellie pushed herself up onto her elbows and resumed her crawl forward. Oh, she had fight alright.

David laughed again. This was too much fun. "I guess not," he said. "Just not your style is it?" He kicked her again. Hard. And she cried out with the pain of it. The sound was intoxicating - the power extraordinary. He stepped either side of Ellie and lowered himself to his knees, so that he was almost straddling her back. With a smile, he pressed her face into the carpet.

"You can try beggin'," he suggested, enjoying the thought.

"Fuck you," she spat back instantly.

David tensed. She'd soon learn. Perhaps Ellie wasn't the begging sort at that moment, but given time he knew that he could make even the bravest souls break. There had been much tougher cookies before Ellie came along.

He shoved her shoulder roughly around so that she was facing him. Much better. He wanted to see her face. He liked it that way. David felt beyond powerful at that moment. Ellie's fragile little body beneath him felt weak and tiny. He had total dominion over her. His will was God.

David looked into her eyes, wanting to find that rush of terror there and he was rewarded. She was scared alright. Even the brave break. They all learn the consequences of disobeying him.

He felt his hands close around her delicate little throat, almost of their own violation, and he shuddered with the pleasure of it. Oh Ellie - you'll learn, you'll learn.

It was true, it was a deep shame that she hadn't come around - they could've worked well together...but she had forced his hand on this. It was all her fault.

Her breathing was becoming ragged - she was terrified, he could feel it, but he saw something else in her eyes. What was that? Revulsion? ...Judgement? He gripped her neck tighter. How dare she judge him! Who the fuck did she think she was, judging him? He'd show her - the ignorant little bitch, he'd show her.

"You think you know me? Huh?" He demanded of her. Ellie said nothing - just stared up at him with those wide, reproachful eyes. He saw all of the girls then - the dozens of girls before Ellie, just staring at him. All mocking him, like they knew something he didn't. How dare they. He had been their salvation in the end. Fuck them!

"Well, let me tell you somethin'," he hissed. "You have no idea what I'm capable of."

His fingers were pressing right into her neck now. He felt like he could snap it with the merest twist -

Pain flooded through his left arm. David cried out, grasping at it. He didn't understand. What was happening? He was on his back and suddenly Ellie was on top of him. David stared up at her uncomprehendingly. The fear and judgement had vanished from her gaze, only to be replaced by a deep malice that David recognised in himself. Something warm was dripping onto his face.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

He wiped at it irritably and found it to be blood.

David still didn't fully understand, not until he saw the machete grasped in Ellie's hands - the blade wet with blood. His own blood. His body went cold. He felt his heart pounding with the intensity of knowing its own end and he raised his hands in defence. It wasn't supposed to be this way.

David let out a strangled scream of panic as the machete fell.

He was dead by the third swing.

**And there you have it. I hope that you guys enjoyed my writing. Please do review if you can. I love receiving the feedback. **


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